A mandate from the Department of Homeland Security that Michigan put radio chips in drivers licenses is a clear intrusion of civil liberties and puts people at a greater risk of identity theft, U.S. Rep. Justin Amash said in a letter to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano.

Amash, in the communication, urges the federal agency to work with states to find alternatives to placing radio frequency identification chips into enhanced driver’s licenses. Amash is wary that the chips will be able to be read by private entities and mined for personal data.

“I am deeply concerned about the privacy implications of mandatory RFIDs in drivers licenses,” the Cascade Township Republican wrote to Napolitano. “The chips would give public and private entities an unprecedented ability to track Americans.

“Furthermore, if RFIDs were to become ubiquitous, there is little doubt that private entities would deploy new technology to capture the chips’ data.”